I rescued a hatchling, went to two wild life vets and I think they were terrible.
Hi there,
I apologize for my broken English in advance.
I went to a vet visit where the staff ask me to adopt a baby redfoot (about a month old) that was attacked by a dog. They where giving him antibiotics and vitamins. But they have him in a cold dog/cat kennel. Noticed that it was super super cold and dry. I bought a plastic box, some lighting and sustract. Took that to the vet and leave it with them until they finished the antibiotics.
They gave it to me 5 days ago. From day one, I noticed that he couldn't move his back paws and that they are a bit swollen and also hasn't poop since it is with me. Doesn't have an obvious respiratory issue but I notice an clicking sound. Not constant, but it's there. And some yawns every now and then.
I took it to another vet since the others obviously didn't had a clue on how to care for tortoises. This vet said that the paws are swollen because of the shell. It also advise to give it cat food and a lot of protein and fruits. I mentioned the not pooping a few times and said nothing. Also said that the sustract should be dry. I'm not convinced at all.
I'm worried that it has an obstruction because of the conditions he was in, and the food it was given in the first vet. That it was apples and strawberries mostly, that he had a hard time biting through. I'm pretty sure it wasn't able to eat properly for the two weeks it was in the first vet.
The thing is that those are very famous wild life vets in my area, so I don't know what to do at this point.
I've been giving him baths, about 10 min twice a day, leafy greens, papaya and some boiled chicken breast and a tiny bit of calcium. Trying to keep the temperature around 80F and basking area at 90F. I tried to have de sustract moist but the lightning does not keep it warm without upping up the ambient temperature way too much. Right now half of the sustract is moist and I put a reptile mat in the other half.
The only good thing is that he still has a big appetite. I've been trying not to overfeed since it's not pooping.
Please, any suggestion is greatly appreciated.